


at night the dead come down to drink

by mihael_jeevas



Series: Blood and also Lust [1]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Fluffish, Halloween, M/M, mild bloodplay, obviously because hello vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-12
Updated: 2012-10-12
Packaged: 2017-11-16 04:23:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mihael_jeevas/pseuds/mihael_jeevas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Halloween has always made Kanda grumpy. Of course, everything makes Kanda grumpy, but he has a specific distaste for any holiday where little kids dress up as cute, Hollywood versions of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	at night the dead come down to drink

In hindsight, Lavi should have known the plastic teeth would have been a bad idea.

Halloween has always made Kanda grumpy. Of course, everything makes Kanda grumpy, but he has a specific distaste for any holiday where little kids dress up as cute, Hollywood versions of him.

Lavi thought he had learned everything about creatures of the night when he joined up with Bookman. The evils of the undead had been drilled into when he was a little boy. Bookman, however, had never taught Lavi that sometimes the vampire package changed from shambling, stinking corpses to sullen, seemingly teenage boys.

They’d met when Lavi was fourteen and Kanda was—well, he’d never actually disclosed his age. He was out hunting per his master’s orders when Kanda quite literally swept him off his feet. Granted, it was with the intention of killing Lavi, but hey, at least Kanda was pretty. That was the night he’d learned he and Bookman weren’t the only hunters in the area and after that Lavi had been insistent on acquiring the irritable vampire’s friendship. Debatably, he’d succeeded, since he called Kanda by his Christian name on a regular basis and still had a head. That was why Lavi felt safe pushing Kanda’s buttons just a bit further than everyone else did, hence the vampire dentures. If anything, he was being a good friend, taking the time out of his day to prepare Kanda for the onslaught of holiday cheer would ensue tomorrow.

“Oh, come on,” Lavi says to the door Kanda has slammed in his face. “Yuu is no fun.”

“Don’t call me that,” Kanda growls from inside the house. “And get off my porch.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do. Go away.”

Lavi sighs. So harsh. Luckily Kanda's guardian and fellow hunter Tiedoll had acquiesced to Lavi’s request for a key to the house. He hadn’t actually been serious about it; it was just another way to get under Kanda’s skin and test the guy’s boundaries. But Tiedoll had lit up like a Christmas tree at the suggestion and the next day Lavi found himself with a key and a lecture about keeping the man’s adopted son safe. It was kind of cute, Lavi had to admit, how Tiedoll worried so much over a being that was perfectly capable and perhaps decades older than him. He could be grating, but Lavi saw his point: it wasn’t safe to be so alone, especially when most people grouped all vampires into one big, dead pile. Kanda was a dick, sure, but he wasn’t a monster. That was why Bookman had let Kanda live and why he’d (grudgingly) let Lavi continue to associate with him. Though if he knew the kind of relations Lavi wanted to have with Kanda, well…

By the time Lavi lets himself in Kanda is on the ceiling hissing at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a tendency to overreact?” Lavi asks, closing the door behind him. 

“He gave you a key,” Kanda grumbles. The house’s shades are all drawn, because even though sunlight doesn’t actually hurt Kanda he still hates it. The only light comes from the television in the living room and the eerie glow of Kanda's skin. “He _actually_ gave you a key.”

“What does it matter? I’m over here, like, every day.”

“Because you can get into my house,” Kanda replies, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Typically that’s what keys do, yes.” That earns him a snarl deep enough to show fangs. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin today.”

“I don’t. Have. A coffin.”

“Yeah, yeah. Man, you are so cranky today. Was it the holiday that broke the vampire’s back?”

Kanda responds by flying up to the second floor and slamming his bedroom door. Lavi takes that as a yes.

*

Sometimes it bothers Lavi how little he knows about Kanda. Tiedoll’s told him scattered things, but not much out of respect for his ward. What he does know is this: Kanda hates most things except soba, his sword, gardening (which Lavi finds adorable), and sometimes Lavi, depending on the day. Then there are his suspicions. Kanda has a lot of scars and what seems to be a pathological fear of small spaces, which is probably why Tiedoll gave him this giant house despite the fact that Kanda has very few possessions. And then there is his absolute loathing of social situations and other people, which Lavi respects, again depending on the day. If there’s one thing he’s learned it’s that sometimes Kanda needs to be pushed for his own good.

This is why most times when Kanda yells at him to leave he doesn’t. Over the years the house has become a second home to him, maybe more homely than his place with Bookman, so Lavi’s content to rummage around the kitchen and throw his shit all over the living room. Eventually Kanda comes back downstairs, mostly because he smells soba. Which is fine with Lavi, he’s happy to play a bit dirty to get what he wants.

Lavi’s willing to bet even as a human Kanda snuck around, because he’s way too good at it. One second Lavi is alone in the kitchen and the next Kanda is at the table, red eyes on the pot Lavi’s currently stirring. By this point Lavi’s used to it, though he admits to letting out a few less than manly screams in the past over Kanda’s wonky time travel bullshit.

It’s just past sunset, so Lavi’s taken the luxury to lift the shades and open the windows to the fall air. That’s another thing Lavi knows about Kanda: he likes the world when it’s empty. He enjoys the silence and cool nights, unlike Lavi, who feels like talking and talking until his lungs give out. Lavi wonders if he was like this before he was turned, if as a human Kanda would wander around and take life in when nobody else was around to remind him he wasn’t alone in it. He wonders about a lot things concerning both the living and dead versions of Kanda, but knows better than to ask. It’s frustrating to spend so much time with someone ( _four fucking years_ ) and find yourself just as shut out as you were on day one. When Lavi considers the alternative, however, his heart does this thing where it stops completely, and that settles that.

“Sense anything out there?” He asks, because he’s not Kanda and he can’t stay quiet forever.

Kanda shakes his head. His eyes are closed and his face is leaning towards the breeze.

Lavi tries not to stare at him like a hungry dog and fails. He clears his throat and turns the stove off before starting to scoop the soba. “Good, I have too much homework for that bullshit.”

Kanda snatches the bowl out of his hand and is settled back at the table before Lavi’s eyesight can even recognize the shift. “Isn’t ‘that bullshit’ your destined calling or something?”

“Only according to Bookman. You know, you could really stand to learn some patience,” Lavi says, looking at his now empty hands. “It’s a virtue after all.”

“I’m damned, I don’t need virtues.”

“Well, you could still stand to learn some manners,” he grumbles.

“Fighting with the panda again?”

“What—“

“You always come and annoy me whenever you two get into it. Predictable rabbit,” Kanda adds before proceeding to stuff his face.

“Like you don’t love having me around. You’d never see anyone if I didn’t visit.”

Kanda snorts. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Lavi thinks it is. It isn’t like Kanda has school or a job or anything, which makes sense considering Kanda’s temperament and is probably for the best. But Lavi’s learned that it’s not good to be alone all the time with nothing but your demons. And maybe he wants to be there for Kanda more than he should, but, well, his heart is in the right place, isn’t it? “What happened this time?”

"Fuck if I know. I spaced out. Something about ‘blah blah college and blah blah duty and blah blah are you paying attention to me blah.’ Can we, like, switch guardians or something? Because you’d get along with Bookman a lot better than I would.”

“Why do you even want to go to college?”

“Oh, I dunno, because it would be nice to do something for myself before some lucky vampire snaps my neck?” Lavi retorts, then frowns, regretting the outburst almost instantly. Kanda isn’t intentionally cruel, practically a kitten compared to most of the vampires Lavi has encountered, but there’s always going to be a divide between their two species. Sometimes that disconnect is more glaring than others. It usually rears its ugly head on the rare occasion Lavi shows interest in something stereotypically human and normal. This time it’s college and last time it was Lavi hinting around that there was someone he was interested in. Kanda’s reaction was expected, but still stung. If Lavi was smart, he’d just give up. The problem is that Lavi is a genius and therefore devoid of common sense. So he spends day and night at the house of a creature that will probably not give him thought once Lavi’s body is cold in the ground.

“Go, then.” The vampire pulls Lavi out of his thoughts. “If it means that much to you.”

“What, and risk Bookman disowning me?”

“Then don’t go. You think too much for an idiot.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Lavi mutters around a mouthful of noodles, swearing when he burns his tongue.

Kanda shrugs, the motion a boneless, graceless fashion that is utterly inhuman and far too appealing. “It’s because I don’t care.” 

Lavi opens his mouth to reply and nothing comes out. By the time he’s thought of the words Kanda has disappeared out the window into the darkness.

"Good talk, then."

*

He wakes up in the middle of the night with Kanda pinning him to his bed.

“Um.” There’s really nothing to say. “Hi?”

There’s almost no red in Kanda’s eyes, the color overtaken by his blown pupils. His lips are curled, revealing the full extent of his fangs, and all of his muscles are coiled as if he’s ready to attack. He looks like a complete beast and Lavi is mesmerized. The only thing that snaps him out of his trance is the fact that something warm and wet is pouring onto his leg. He frowns. “Are you hurt?”

“Starving,” Kanda rasps, leaning forward to press his forehead to the curve of Lavi’s neck. “I’m _starving_.” When he speaks his lips brush Lavi’s pulse.

Lavi shudders. “What… What happened?”

Kanda merely shakes his head, his hair tickling Lavi’s skin. The grip he has on Lavi’s wrists tightens and Lavi can feel the hard beat of blood in his veins. It should be terrifying, knowing what this creature can do to him, but things are never how they should be for Lavi.

He swallows, gives himself a moment to try and articulate the clusterfuck he’s feeling. “Take from me—whatever you need, it’s okay. Take it.”

There’s a long moment where they lay in silence before Kanda pulls back to look at him. He stares at Lavi as if he doesn’t understand, which is entirely possible considering the state he’s in. Lavi considers repeating himself ( _or you could run_ , the rational part of his brain supplies) when Kanda lets go of one of Lavi’s wrists, sitting up and balancing on Lavi’s hips. The other arm Kanda holds tight, pulling it up with him when he moves, and raises it to his lips. There’s one whole second for Lavi to understand the implication before Kanda bites into him. 

It doesn’t hurt, which literally makes no sense considering his flesh is being torn and his veins are running loose. He’s heard rumors that some vampires can change the bite to make it feel better or worse, but he thinks it’s just because Kanda’s lips are finally on him. Context can suck a dick as far as Lavi’s concerned, which is a really unfortunate phrase to think of since Kanda’s thighs are tightening around his waist. The fact that he’s getting hard is just incredibly cruel, since it’s not like he’s going to have that blood for much longer. Lavi tries to stay as still as possible and prays that a) it will go away and b) Kanda won’t notice.

Apparently God doesn’t answer your prayers if you’re getting voluntarily sucked on by a supposedly soulless monster, because Kanda slides his free hand down the front of Lavi’s jeans and literally tears his fly open. And then Lavi doesn’t care so much about God, because God isn’t the one giving him a handjob. It’s better than he’d ever dreamed of, feeling those sword-callused fingers jerk him off. There has to be something in Kanda that’s still conscious, because his movements are careful and precise. It’s as close to gentle as Lavi thinks Kanda is capable of. That coupled with the way Kanda is looking at him yanks away any logical thoughts he has left. 

It only takes three sharp pumps before he comes, nearly biting through his lip to keep from crying out and risking waking up Bookman. He’s dizzy and tired and a hundred percent satisfied and then he promptly blacks out.

If he dies, well. Shit happens.

*

Lavi has been drunk exactly once in his life. That being said, three beers, seven shots, Bookman’s verbal smackdown, and the worst hangover in the history of mankind don’t compare to how awful he feels waking up Halloween morning. He has that fuzzy, barely conscious feeling, the kind that’s making him blank on why exactly he feels if he gets out of bed his head will fall off and the world will end. 

Then he looks down and sees his torn zipper and stained sheets and thinks he has an idea.

*

_hey, quick question: u alive?_

Ten hours, thirty seven minutes, and twelve—thirteen—fourteen seconds later and Kanda still hasn’t texted him back. It’s not out of the ordinary (Lavi messages him at least a dozen times a day and is lucky if he gets one in return), but the bloodlust-induced sex they had is. That coupled with whatever the hell caused to be Kanda so out of his mind is what makes Lavi worry.

The best case scenario, he thinks, is that Kanda is perfectly fine and just happens to despise Lavi because of last night, causing them to never, ever speak again. The worst case … Lavi doesn’t let himself think about that. He goes through the necessary motions: ignoring Bookman, downing Gatorade like it’s his job, and double-bagging his sheets and throwing them out as subtly as possible to avoid suspicion. By nightfall he’s still exhausted and jittery as fuck, which is a terrible combination considering Bookman’s asked him to do a sweep of the town, just to be safe.

Autumn seeps into Lavi’s bones, makes him shiver uncontrollably as he prowls around the park for what feels like the millionth time. His head isn’t in the game, which he knows. He also knows this can and probably will bite him in the ass.

Precisely one second after he thinks it something hits Lavi in the back and knocks him face-first onto the ground. “You’re sloppy,” a deadpan voice tells him and Lavi curses into the dirt before rolling onto his back. From this angle Kanda almost looks human. His hair is neatly pulled back and his skin is slightly flushed from feeding. In the limited light the darkness of his eyes could almost pass for brown if Lavi didn’t know better. But he does, especially with last night in mind.

Not that he’s been thinking about it or anything. “Can’t you just tap me on the shoulder like a normal undead person?” He grumbles, too tired and now annoyed to pick himself up.

“You should have been paying attention.”

“Forgive me for being distracted. The last twenty four hours have been a little bit stressful for me.”

To his surprise, Kanda winces. “How’s your arm?”

Lavi flushes at the memories automatically flooding his mind. “Fine, I guess. Doesn’t hurt or anything. It’s not like I’m dead.”

“No,” Kanda agrees reluctantly. “I thought you’d be angrier.”

“Well, I’m pissed you didn’t text me back. It’s not like I knew what happened to you, last night or today.”

“I was shot.”

“You were _what_?!”

The vampire shrugs. “I healed.”

“So that’s why you…” Flashbacks to red eyes and sweet pressure shut Lavi up.

“Human blood is stronger,” Kanda explains, sounding almost apologetic. “And you’re the only human I know.”

“Okay, but I’m still stuck on the part where you were _shot_.”

“It’s not that important.”

“Right, no, it’s every day that somebody tries to kill you.”

“Actually, it is,” Kanda reminds him. “Not that anyone was trying to kill me this time. It was more of a hunting accident gone awry from what I could tell. Humans and alcohol are a terrible combination.”

“That’s … better, I guess.”

“Are you really only angry about me not texting you back?” The idea seems to puzzle Kanda.

“Yes? I mean, the whole sneaking into my room thing is kind of weird, but you’re kind of weird.” Something clicks in Lavi’s head. “Wait, what did you think I was angry about, the blood thing or the sex thing?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Why? I told you to do whatever, so why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I was civil.”

“You’re never civil,” Lavi points out.

Kanda glares at him. “You know what I mean. It’s just … it made sense at the time. But then I realized I didn’t know if you actually wanted me or were too afraid to tell me to stop.”

“So your way of dealing with this situation was to avoid me when I thought you might be dead instead of just asking me how I feel about you?” Lavi covers his face with his hands. “Oh, my God. All right, this is going to come as a shock to your big, dumb ego, but I’m not scared of you. I haven’t been since, like, forever. And the reason I didn’t say no was because I didn’t fucking _want_ to say no. I _like_ you, jackass. I have liked you, even though you’re an asshole and also kind of dead. Jesus, you have preternatural senses and yet you can’t see how I look at you? And you call me an idiot.”

“You _are_ an idiot.”

“At least I can tell when a person likes another person!”

“Apparently not!” Kanda snaps, angry enough for his fangs to slide out.

“If you like me, why’d you say you don’t care? When I was telling you about Bookman yesterday, you straight up said you do not care.”

“Yeah, about Bookman!”

“But you…” Lavi thinks back to all the time he’s spent with Kanda, the nights Kanda has followed him on a hunt and watched his back in a way no other human could. He sees Kanda’s big, empty house that nobody else enters and catalogs all the small changes Kanda’s let him make. And he remembers the glint in Tiedoll’s eyes when he handed over the second key. Suddenly, it all makes sense. “… _Oh_.”

“Yes, _oh_. Like I said, idiot.”

“How was I supposed to see that? Most of the time I piss you off.”

“Everyone pisses me off.”

“You’re a lot older than me.”

“I’m not that old.” He pauses before adding, “You piss me off less than most people.”

“Well, I’ll die someday.” Lavi wonders why he’s trying to shoot this relationship in the foot before it even starts.

“I know that. I’ve lived on my own for a long time, it’s not like I’m going to kill myself when you kick the bucket. Everybody dies, Lavi,” Kanda adds softly. “It only matters what you do before then.”

“Or after, in your case.”

“Hilarious.”

“I know. It’s why you love me.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Fine, it’s why you like me a whole lot.”

“… That works.”

“Fabulous. Now that we’ve established this can we possibly go somewhere that’s not ass-deep in the last layer of Hell? I know you’re not bothered by the cold, but somehow I don’t think a popsicle boyfriend is all that appealing.”

There’s this weird twitch on Kanda’s face, almost as if he’s having a stroke, Lavi thinks before he realizes it’s actually a smile. It’s a look he can definitely get used to. Kanda extends a hand to pull him up and Lavi doesn’t let go even after he’s vertical. Despite the vampire’s sarcastic comments he lets Lavi hold his hand on the walk home and Lavi’s content enough that he doesn’t let himself think of all the ways Bookman is going to kill him for this.

He does have the feeling that’s he’s missing something important. “Oh, Yuu! I almost forgot!”

Kanda eyes him suspiciously, but before he has a chance to react Lavi leans in and kisses him. It’s quick and rather chaste considering the events of the night before, but they're in public and dangerously close to Lavi’s house. For now, this is enough. “Happy Halloween.”

Hopefully after this Kanda will have a more positive view of the holiday.

"Shut up, Lavi."

Hopefully, but probably not.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally going to be a oneshot because I really wanted to write something for Halloween. But I ended up falling in love with the idea, so it's going to have a sequel and maybe more.


End file.
